Method for configuring storage system connection, device and storage system

ABSTRACT

A method for configuring a connection in a storage system is provided. A configuring device determines that the configuring device cannot communicate with a first control board, and identifies route information related to the first control board in a route information table. The route information is route information between an adapter card and the first control board. The configuring device modifies the identified route information by changing an address of the first control board in the route information to an address of a second control board.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/727,063, filed on Dec. 26, 2012, which is a continuation ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CN2011/084906, filed on Dec.29, 2011, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201010624699.0, filed on Dec. 29, 2010, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of data storagetechnologies, and in particular, to a method for configuring a storagesystem connection, a device and a storage system.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1 is a hardware structure diagram of a storage system in the priorart. As shown in FIG. 1, in this storage system, a user host 1 and adisk chassis 2 are each directly connected to its adapter card 3; andthe adapter card 3 is connected to a north bridge 4 through a PCIe bus(one of extended personal computer bus interface specification PCIbuses), and is further connected to a central processing unit (CPU) 5.Because the CPU5 does not have a direct bus interface, the CPU5 may beconnected to peripherals (such as the user host and the disk chassis)through a chip of the north bridge 4. A function of the adapter card 3is to implement a specific physical link protocol, so that a request issent or received through a physical link. Besides, a memory chip 6 isconfigured for the CPU5 exclusively. The adapter card connected to theuser host 1 is called a front-end adapter card; and the adapter cardconnected to the disk chassis 2 is called a back-end adapter card.

The foregoing north bridge 4 and the CPU 5 form a control board. In theprior art, the control board serves a group of user hosts located at afront end. Meanwhile, several disk chassis are configured, so that anindependent storage subsystem including a control board is formed. Thatis, in a storage subsystem, a user host can request only one controlboard to store or read data, and a disk chassis is controlled by onlyone control board.

In the existing storage system, if a problem occurs on the north bridgeor the CPU of its control board or the connection, for example, when theCPU is damaged or in hibernation, it causes the front-end user host andthe disk chassis that exist in the same storage subsystem as the CPU tofail.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for configuring aconnection in a storage system, a device and a storage system, so as toimprove system stability of the storage system.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for configuringa connection in a storage system. The storage system includes an adaptercard, a configuring device, a first control board and a second controlboard. The configuring device is configured to communicatively connectto the first control board and the second control board, and the adaptercard is configured to communicatively connect to the configuring device.The configuring device determines that the configuring device cannotcommunicate with the first control board; identifies route informationrelated to the first control board in a route information table, whereinthe route information is route information between the adapter card andthe first control board; modifies the identified route information bychanging an address of the first control board in the route informationto an address of the second control board; receives a message from theadapter card; and sends the message to the second control board by usingthe modified route information.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a device forconfiguring a connection in a storage system. The storage systemincludes a first control board and a second control board which areconfigured to communicatively connect to the device. The device includesa computer readable storage medium and a processor. The computerreadable storage medium is configured to store a route information tablethat comprises route information between an adapter card and the firstcontrol board. The processor is coupled to the computer readable storagemedium and is configured to: determine that the device cannotcommunicate with the first control board; identify the route informationbetween the adapter card and the first control board in the routeinformation table; modify the identified route information by changingan address of the first control board in the route information to anaddress of the second control board; and send, a message which is fromthe adapter card, to the second control board by using the modifiedroute information.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storagesystem. The storage system includes a first control board, a secondcontrol board, a configuring device connected to the first control boardand the second control board, and an adapter card which is connected tothe configuring device. The configuring device is configured to:determine that the configuring device cannot communicate with the firstcontrol board; identify a route information related to the first controlboard in the route information table, wherein the route information isroute information between the adapter card and the first control board;modify the identified route information by changing an address of thefirst control board in the route information to an address of the secondcontrol board; receive a message send by the adapter card; and send thereceived message to the second control board by using the modified routeinformation.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the apparatus forconfiguring connection is set, and the apparatus obtains the informationabout the failed control board in the storage system, modifies the routeinformation about the failed control board, and then performs serviceprocessing according to the modified route information. That is, anon-failed control board provides a service for the user, which canimproves the stability of the storage system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention or in the prior art more clearly, the following brieflydescribes accompanying drawings required for describing the embodimentsor the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the followingdescription are some embodiments of the present invention, and personsof ordinary skill in the art may obtain other drawings from theseaccompanying drawings without making creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a hardware structural diagram of a storage system in the priorart;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for configuring a storagesystem connection according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of route information according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device for configuring a storage systemconnection according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a storage system according to an embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a storage system according to an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of thepresent invention more clear, the following clearly and completelydescribes the technical solutions according to the embodiments of thepresent invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in theembodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the describedembodiments are part of rather than all of the embodiments of thepresent invention. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinaryskill in the art based on the embodiments of the present inventionwithout making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scopeof the present invention.

To solve a defect of low stability of a storage system in the prior art,the embodiments of the present invention provide a technical solution.The technical solution can enable a user host or a disk chassis to beconnected to multiple control boards through an adapter card. When acertain control board fails, a user equipment associated with the failedcontrol board is connected to a non-failed control board by modifyingroute information, and the non-failed control board serves the userequipment, so that the stability of the storage system is improved.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for configuring a storagesystem connection according to an embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 2, the method includes the following:

Step 101: Obtain information about a failed control board in a storagesystem.

Step 102: Search a route information table for route information relatedto the failed control board, where the route information is routeinformation between a peripheral and a control board.

Step 103: Modify the searched-out route information by changing a routeaddress of the failed control board in the route information to a routeaddress of a non-failed control board, and store the modified routeinformation.

According to the method for configuring the storage system connection inthe foregoing embodiment, the information about the failed control boardin the storage system is obtained first, and then the pre-stored routeinformation related to the failed control board is searched for. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3, a device for configuring the connectionstores the route information from the control board to a front-endadapter card and the route information from the control board to aback-end adapter card, and modifies the foregoing route information,that is, reconfigures the route between the peripheral and the controlboard, and modifies the topology structure of the storage system, sothat a service may be provided for the foregoing peripheral by anothercontrol board, and stability of the storage system can be effectivelyprovided. Benefits include two aspects: one is that in a case that thecontrol board is damaged or a line connection is faulty, communicationwith the peripheral can still persist, and a service is further providedfor a user; the other is that, it is supported that part of the controlboards are in a hibernation state, without affecting the serviceprovided for a user host.

The searching the route information table for the route informationrelated to the failed control board in step 102 may be: searching theroute information table for the route information between the failedcontrol board and the front-end adapter card, and searching the routeinformation table for the route information between the failed controlboard and the back-end adapter card.

Besides, in this embodiment, after the route information table isupdated, a non-failed control board may provide the service for theperipheral. Specifically, when the peripheral is a front-end adaptercard, the method may further include:

-   -   receiving a data storing request or a data read request that is        initiated by the user host and is forwarded by the front-end        adapter card, and forwarding the data storing request or the        data read request to the non-failed control board according to        the modified route information.

The obtaining the information about the failed control board in thestorage system may be implemented in the following methods:

One is sending a detection packet to the control board in the storagesystem, and determining that the control board is damaged if nodetection response is received in a preset time threshold, where thedetection may be periodically performed by a dedicated program in thesystem, and the preset time threshold may be obtained according tofactors such as time consumed during transmission of the detectionpacket, response time of the device in a normal case, and so on; theother one is receiving a control board hibernation message sent by thecontrol board when the control board is hibernation, where the controlboard hibernation message may be forwarded by a north bridge.

Corresponding to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the present inventionfurther provides a device for configuring a storage system connection.FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a device for configuring a storagesystem connection according to an embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 4, the device includes a first obtaining module 11, astorage module 12, a searching module 13, and a route informationmodifying module 14. The first obtaining module 11 is configured toobtain information about a failed control board in a storage system; thestorage module 12 is configured to store a route information table thatincludes route information between a peripheral and a control board; thesearching module 13 is configured to search the route information tablefor the route information related to the failed control board; and theroute information modifying module 14 is configured to modify thesearched-out route information by changing a route address of the failedcontrol board in the route information to a route address of anon-failed control board, and store the modified route information intothe storage module 12.

After the first obtaining module 11 learns that a control board fails,the device for configuring the storage system connection provided in theforegoing embodiment, searches the storage module for the routeinformation related to the control board, where the route informationincludes routing information between the control board and a front-endadapter card and routing information between the control board and aback-end adapter card, and modifies the route information, that is,reconfigures the route between the peripheral and the control board andmodifies topology structure of the storage system, so that a service maybe provided for the peripheral by another control board, which caneffectively provide stability of the storage system. Specific benefitsinclude two aspects: One is that in a case that the control board isdamaged or a line connection is faulty, communication with theperipheral can still persist, and a service is further provided for auser; the other is that, it is supported that part of the control boardsare in a hibernation state, without affecting a service provided for auser host.

The route information mentioned in the foregoing embodiment may includeroute information between the control board and the front-end adaptercard, and include route information between the control board and theback-end adapter card.

The foregoing device further includes a service processing module 15.The service processing module 15 is configured to receive a data storingrequest or a data read request which is initiated by the user host andis forwarded by the front-end adapter card, and forward the data storingrequest of the data read request to a non-failed control board accordingto the modified route information.

In addition, according to the device for configuring the storage systemconnection provided in the foregoing embodiment, the first obtainingmodule 11 may further include a detecting unit 111 or a receiving unit112. The detecting unit 111 is configured to send a detection packet tothe control board in the storage system, and determine that the controlboard is damaged if no detection response is received within a presettime threshold; and the receiving unit 112 is configured to receive acontrol board hibernation message sent by the control board. Theinformation about the failed control board may be obtained by usingeither of both the foregoing manners.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storagesystem. The storage system includes a front-end adapter card configuredto connect to a user host, a back-end adapter card configured to connectto a disk chassis, and two or more control boards, and includes thedevice for configuring the storage system connection mentioned in theforegoing embodiment. One side of the device (e.g., a device side) forconfiguring the storage system connection is connected to the front-endadapter card and the back-end adapter card, and the other side (e.g., aprocessor side) of the device for configuring the storage systemconnection is connected to the two or more control boards.

The configuring device in the foregoing embodiment is configured in thestorage system provided in the foregoing embodiment of the presentinvention, and can searches a storage module for route informationrelated to the control board after receiving a control board failuremessage, where the route information includes route information betweenthe control board and the front-end adapter card and route informationbetween the control board and the back-end adapter card, and modifiesthe route information, that is, reconfigures a route between aperipheral and the control board and modifies topology structure of thestorage system, so that a service may be provided for the peripheral byanother control board, which can effectively provide stability of thestorage system. Specific benefits include two aspects: One is that in acase that the control board is damaged or a line connection is faulty,communication with the peripheral can still persist, and a service isfurther provided for a user; the other is that, it is supported thatpart of the control boards are in a hibernation state, without affectinga service provided for the user host.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a storage system according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the storagesystem includes two devices for configuring a storage system connection,that is a first configuring device and a second configuring device whichserve a user host and a disk chassis, and may implement isolationbetween a front-end service and a back-end service. The devices forconfiguring the storage system connection are set between an adaptercard and a north bridge of a control board. Generally, because theadapter card is connected to the north bridge of the control boardthrough a PCIe bus, the devices for configuring the storage systemconnection may also be referred to as PCIe switching chips. One of thedevices for configuring the storage system connection is connected totwo or more connection boards. The devices for configuring theconnection in this embodiment may share route information; or, after oneof them learns failure of a control board, the device notifies thefailure to another control board at the same time, so that both of thedevices for configuring the connection can modify their locally storedroute information in time to avoid an impact of the failed controlboard.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a storage system according to a secondembodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the storage system includes one devicefor configuring a storage system connection, and provides a service fora user host and a disk chassis simultaneously. The storage systemprovided in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention canprovide system stability, and can also support a working manner of acontrol board in hibernation, so as to save energy.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all of or partof the steps of the foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by aprogram instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in acomputer readable storage medium. When the program is executed, thesteps of the foregoing methods embodiments are executed. The storagemedium may be various media that may store program codes, such as a ROM,a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a compact disk, and the like.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merelyused for describing the technical solutions of the present inventionother than limiting it. Although the present invention is described indetail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, persons of ordinaryskill in the art should understand that they may still makemodifications to the technical solutions described in the foregoingembodiments or make equivalent replacements to part of the technicalfeatures, while such modifications or replacements do not make thenature of relevant technical solutions depart from the spirit and scopeof the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for configuring a connection in a storage system which comprises an adapter card, a configuring device, a first control board and a second control board, wherein the configuring device is configured to communicatively connect to the first control board and the second control board, and the adapter card is configured to communicatively connect to the configuring device, the method comprising: determining, by the configuring device, that the configuring device is unable to communicate with the first control board; identifying, by the configuring device, route information between the adapter card and the first control board in a route information table; modifying, by the configuring device, the identified route information by changing an address of the first control board in the route information into an address of the second control board; receiving, by the configuring device, a message from the adapter card; and sending, by the configuring device, the message to the second control board by using the modified route information.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adapter card is at least one of a front-end adapter card connected to a user host and a back-end adapter card connected to a disk chassis.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adapter card is a front-end adapter card connected to a user host, and the message received by the configuring device is a data storing request message or a data read request message which is initiated by the user host.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that the configuring device is unable to communicate with the first control board further comprises: sending, by the configuring device, a detection packet to the first control board, and determining that the first control board has failed when no response message responsive to the detection packet is received from the first control board within a preset time threshold.
 5. A device for configuring a connection in a storage system, wherein the storage system comprises a first control board and a second control board both of which are configured to communicatively connect to the device, the device comprises: a computer readable storage medium, configured to store a route information table that comprises route information between an adapter card and the first control board; and a processor, coupled to the computer readable storage medium and configured to: determine that the device is unable to communicate with the first control board; identify the route information between the adapter card and the first control board in the route information table; modify the identified route information by changing an address of the first control board in the route information into an address of the second control board; and send, a message which is from the adapter card, to the second control board by using the modified route information.
 6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the adapter card is a front-end adapter card, and the message is a data storing request message or a data read request message which is initiated from a user host connected to the front-end adapter card.
 7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to: send a detection packet to the first control board, and determine that the first control board has failed when no response message responsive to the detection packet is received from the first control board within a preset time.
 8. A storage system, comprising: a first control board and a second control board; a configuring device connected to the first control board and the second control board; and an adapter card which is connected to the configuring device, wherein the configuring device is configured to: determine that the configuring device is unable to communicate with the first control board; identify route information between the adapter card and the first control board in a route information table; modify the identified route information by changing an address of the first control board in the route information into an address of the second control board; receive a message sent by the adapter card; and send the received message to the second control board by using the modified route information.
 9. The storage system according to claim 8, wherein the configuring device is configured to: send a detection packet to the first control board; and determine that the first control board has failed when no response message sent from the first control board in response to the detection packet is received by the configuring device within a preset time.
 10. The storage system according to claim 8, wherein the adapter card is a front-end adapter card, the message received by the configuring device is a data storing request message or a data read request message which is initiated by a user host connected to the front-end adapter card. 